Premium content for only $0.99

Burleson police Commander Cindy Aaron said officers had responded to the area prior to the mauling after a 911 hang-up call was received from a cellphone at 6:48 p.m.

Officers had gone door to door looking for the source of the call when they found the family disturbance at the home on Linda.

Aaron said officers separated the couple and took pictures of some reported injuries. Officers also checked the welfare of the baby but found the boy to be fine, she said.

About an hour later, two officers were still on the scene, taking statements from witnesses outside the house, when the mauling occurred, she said.

"He had fallen asleep. One of the relatives had taken him inside," Aaron said. "... The relative said he laid him on the bed in the bedroom and left the room and then heard a noise and went in there and saw the dog had the baby on the floor."

The relative, believed to be the infant's grandfather, grabbed the baby from the dog and ran outside with the baby screaming.

"It appears that it was a tragic accident but we do have an ongoing investigation," Aaron said.

The city conducted a debriefing for officers and firefighters who responded to the emotional scene, Aaron said.

The dog, which was quarantined until being put down Tuesday morning, had previously been involved in a minor dog bite in 2011. The dog was placed in quarantine and then released back to the owner, Peckler said.

"It was not turned into us as an aggressive, dangerous dog," Peckler said.

Peckler said Animal Services had previously dealt with the dog in 2010, when it was picked up running loose in the neighborhood and then reclaimed by its owner.